Creative Ways To Bring In Multiple Income Streams

Christine

Jun 30, 2017

A recent article from Black Enterprise points out that there is much more to getting multiple income streams than just taking a job. In fact, this may hurt your chances. Second jobs don’t offer the flexibility and freedom you need, and in fact, the time you trade for money can be a negative exchange. However, there are many other different ways you can keep your income diverse and ready to handle any economic shifts.

Ideally, in addition to being flexible and allowing you to manage it on your time, things you should be looking for from these side streams are areas that won’t cost you a bunch of money upfront, can ultimately generate income without you overdoing it. Now you may feel that if something this great was out there, everyone would be doing it. In fact, this isn’t the case, and Black Enterprise is sharing some great examples of ways that people (but not nearly enough of them) are using to generate more income for their savings and goals.

One of the most common things you will hear when it comes to side work is translating the skills that you already have from your current or past career positions into new income generators. For example, one item growing in popularity is creating a book, or, if publishing costs are worrying to you, an e-book. Some people will actually publish their e-books for free in an attempt to get their name out there as an influencer or expert in a certain field, but you can also sell them through Amazon. If you choose traditional publishing, know that the process can be tedious, but also rewarding both for your pocket and for yourself.

Other examples include teaching your expertise to others directly. There are many platforms to do this, ranging from teaching at a university to putting out a series of seminars online. Sometimes, you may want to take the initiative yourself and create a business around teaching or consulting others certain skills.

While some of these areas qualify as small businesses, you may want to go a step further and operate a traditional business of your own, offering some type of service or product. Think of areas of your career or personal life that constantly draw interest. However, there may be more of a financial barrier to entry than the earlier entries in this article. The same applies to areas like starting an expertise website, or blog. If you are looking for the most passive option possible for income, investments like stocks, bonds, 401(k)s and annuities are the way to go. One of the best things you can do is take proceeds from ventures like these and establish an emergency fund in a high-interest savings or checking account.